Family Talk
by Crazy's What I Aim For
Summary: On the Battle Anniversary, Rose gets a lesson on death and forgiveness. Written for the Camp Potter Archery challenge, read and review!


**I am on a roll... no not really this took me FOREVER but i kinda like it... hope you do to!**

**Disclaimer: not mine**

Rose sat quietly between her mother and father. She knew that today was a serious day and she should be as quiet and as still as she could sitting beside them.

It wasn't hard to do. Her birthday was just three weeks ago and she had gotten a Wendy the Witch doll so she could entertain herself pretty easily.

Unlike her cousin Albus. He could never sit down and be quiet for a long period of time. That's why he always got spankings. From the way Auntie Gin's face was turning red and Uncle Harry's mouth was small like a raspberry, he might be getting another one.

Rose smiled as she smoothed down the hair on Wendy. She never got spankings. She was the good girl, and everybody said so.

Maybe it was because she was older than Albus. Yes they were going to muggle primary school together, but she was three weeks older. And everyone knew that three weeks was a lot when it came to being mature. Everybody said so. She loved it when they said she was so smart and mature and "another Hermione Granger."

"Okay Rosie, it's time to go," her Daddy said, picking her up out of her chair. "Love you, Rosie Roo." He hugged her tightly against his chest and pressed a kiss to her forehead, his beard scratching her face slightly.

"Love you, Daddy Doo," she replied kissing his cheek. She smiled and ignored the way his eyes looked extra shiny, or how extra scratchy his voice sounded. He had been crying, just like every other time they came to Hogwarts for he Memorial, but she never said anything. He had cried at her birthday, and when Aunt Gin said something he blushed and got mad at Aunt Gin. Rose didn't want her Daddy getting mad at her.

"Oh, well I suppose no one loves me?" Rose twisted around in her Daddy's arms and looked at her Mommy.

Her Mommy had been crying too. It was more obvious though. The make-up that she wore only on special occasions was smudged on her face like she had tried wiping the evidence away, but hadn't fully gotten it.

Rose leaned down and gave her Mommy a kiss and big hug around her neck, squeezing as tight as she could.

"Thank you, now I feel loved." Her Mommy smiled and looked at her Daddy. "Ready to go?"

He nodded, frowned, then shook his head. "No, I want to check out the new monument they put up near the entrance hall."

Hermione nodded and together the family set off. "I kind of wanted to see it too, but was a bit worried about leaving Hugo with the sitter. His teeth are starting to come in and Sarah isn't seventeen yet. Who knows what could happen if he started using accidental magic and she couldn't do anything to stop it?"

Rose smiled to herself. She didn't need to stay at home with the sitter. She got to come to the service. She was mature.

They reached the new memorial and both of her parents stood still and looked at it silently.

She wasn't very good at reading yet so she didn't know what the words said at the top. She recognized the muggle, witch, goblin, and house elf holding hands, though. Then there were more words at the bottom, written really small and close together.

"We must never forget," her Mommy whispered. She ran her hands along the small words at the bottom and sniffed. She looked like she was going to cry.

Rose squirmed in her Daddy's arms and he set her on the floor. She wrapped her arms around her Mommy's legs, hoping it would get her to stop crying.

"Fred," she heard her Daddy whisper. She turned and saw him kneeling at the base of the memorial, pointing at the name. His voice had gotten scratchy again and Rose let go of her Mommy's legs to go hug him.

Her Mommy knelt down beside him and rubbed his back. "All these years have passed, but it always hurts the same when I see a list or hear his name in a speech," he whispered, tears slipping down his cheeks.

Rose reached her hands up and wiped the tears from his eyes. He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead. She smiled back up at him, and shrieked with giggles as he pretended to blow his nose in her hair.

Rose stayed quiet on the way out of the castle and down the path to the gate. She knew that the Fred her Daddy was talking about was her Uncle Fred, and he died fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts. But there was just something she couldn't figure out.

"Mommy?"

"Yes sweetheart?"

"Where do people go when they die?"

Both of her parents stopped and looked at her. "Honey, why to you want to know?" her Mommy asked.

Rosie shrugged. "People always say that someone is gone when they died. So where do they go? And why do they get so sad? Is it someplace bad? Do they not get to come back and visit?"

Her Mommy and Daddy looked at each other, then pulled her off of the path and onto the grass.

"Okay, Rosie-Roo, how do I start?" her Daddy rubbed his face and squeezed his eyes shut.

"When someone dies," he started turning to look at her, "they don't come back to visit. Unless they become a ghost. They go someplace far from her, that's even better than being here with all of their friends and family."

Rose nodded. "But why does everyone get so sad? Aren't they happy that their friends get to go somewhere nice?" she questioned.

Her Mommy answered her this time. "Oh they are happy for them. During the war, when things were very bad, some people welcomed death in their final moments so they could finally be at peace. The people here are sad because we won't get to see them for a long time."

"Do we get to see them when we die?"

Her Daddy nodded. "Everyone has to die, and when we do, we see all the people we loved again."

Rose nodded seriously. That made sense. "But why do some people come back as ghosts?"

"Because some people are scared. They don't know what's going to happen when they leave, so they stay here. They don't wan to take the chance that things won't be better on the other side, so they stay here watching their friends and families live their lives. Then, when they die, they don't get to go to the other side with them because they missed their chance."

Rose sighed. It was sad to think about. No wonder people didn't talk about it much. "Okay. I get it. Can we get Hugo from the sitter and go the Burrow now?" She stood up and waited for her parents to get up too.

Once they were on the path again she took both of her parent's hands in hers. "Do you think I'll get to meet Uncle Fred one day? Once everyone has died and gone to the other side?"

Her Daddy smiled down at her. "Course you will. And he'll love you."

She smiled at him. She hoped he would. Everyone said he was so funny and charming when they visited his grave, and Rose often wondered what it would be like to meet him for herself. She wanted to know if he was as funny as Uncle George, or even funnier. If hearing him laughing made you laugh, without him having to even tell a joke.

She used to think it was too bad that he didn't become a ghost, so she could see him and talk to him whenever she wanted. But now that she knew what it really meant to become a ghost, she realized that it would be awfully lonely to be a ghost after every reason you wanted to stay has gone.

Later, as Rose was being tucked into bed, she looked up at her Mommy with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"What is it sweetheart? You look confused," her Mommy said, smoothing the crease in her eyebrow down.

"Well I was just wondering," Rose said thoughtfully, "do they all go to the same place?"

Her Mommy's head tilted to the side slightly. "I don't know what you mean, Rose."

"Neither do I Rosie Roo," her Daddy said coming into her room, sitting on the other side of her bed. "Who is they and where are you talking about?"

"You said when people die, they go to a better place and wait for the people they love to come with them. What about the bad people. Grandma Molly said bad people have bad things happen to them. So do they get to go to the nice place too, or do they have to a bad place."

Her Mommy and Daddy looked at each other for a long time. They seemed to be talking without talking. Finally her Mommy turned to her and answered her question.

"Well Rosie, nobody is truly bad, I think. Just the choices they make, and the things they are influenced to do. If I had grown up in house that said stealing was okay, I would think stealing was an okay thing to do, even though it isn't. But that wouldn't make me bad, just the things I do bad. Do you understand?"

Rose bit her lip and frowned. "Even the bad guys on the other side of the war? The people who gave you scars and killed Uncle Fred? Do they get to the good place too?"

Her Daddy looked like he was about to answer, but her Mommy spoke up instead. "Yes Rose. That's why we forgive people. Even though they should be punished for choosing the course of action they did, they aren't bad people. We might be sad or angry, but not at them. We have compassion and try helping them by punishing them and making them see that what they did what was wrong. The Death Eaters did bad things and hurt people but they are good people. As the ones on the right side, it's our job to see that, like they weren't taught to. "

"So everyone goes? Because everyone is good? And we should always say that people are good even though they do bad things?"

Her Mommy smiled and nodded. "Exactly. Now do you understand?"

Rose nodded and smiled at her Mommy.

"Good, now get to sleep," Her Daddy said kissing her cheek and turning off her light. "Love you Rosie Roo."

"Love you Daddy Doo."

Rose rolled over in her bed and put her ands under her head. It had bee a long day, and she was ready to go to sleep, but she heard her Daddy's voice as soon as she closed her eyes.

"Do you really believe all of the things you told Rose?"

Her Mommy waited before answering. "Yes, the more I think about it I do."

"But." Her Daddy paused and took a deep breath. "You still think they're good people? I've forgiven them, but I don't think they get to walk around in a better place after they've died!" he whispered.

"Well, yes! Who knows who they could have become if they weren't raised that way! I'm not saying they're completely faultless, but what if they hadn't been told to think that way for their entire lives. You're a Pureblood, and the only thing that could have kept you from being in the same place as Draco Malfoy all those years ago are your parents."

"But-"

"No buts Ron. Think how different things would have been if some of the pureblood families had bothered to give Muggle and Muggleborns a chance. As another human being that fought for equality, it's the least we can do for the in their death."

Her Daddy sighed. "I see what you mean. Forgiveness and all. It's a good thing to teach our children. We did a pretty good death talk didn't we?"

"We did." And with those words being spoken, Rose drifted to sleep

**Thanks for reading please review!**


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